Device for moving articles from one level to another.



1. T. COWLEY. DEVICE FOR MOVING ARTICLES FROM ONE LEVELTO ANOTHER.

APPLICATION F ILED OCT. 8. I 9I5.. 1,251,478.

will; eiss. ,fiz ven la r.

Patented Jan. 1,1918.

1 UNITED {STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES T. COWLEY, 0]? MIN OT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE LAMSON COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A. CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

DEVICE FOR NOVINQABTICLES FROM ONE LEVEL TO ANOTHER.

of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for moving articles, such as crown bottle stoppers or-the like, from one level to another by means of a belt conveyer or the equivalent thereof, and it has for one of its objects the handling of such articles while in transit in such fashion as to prevent mutilation or scratching of the decorations or printing thereupon.

-Another object of the invention is to provide a conveying mechanism which shall deliver-articles, properly emplaced therein for transit, so that said articles will all emerge from a part of the'mechanism right side up, or each in a predetermined fashion, to permit, for example, of an inspection of said articles or their delivery, all faced in a given way or direction, to some point which they are destined to pass.

More especially, and inrits preferred embodiment,the invention has for its object the transferring of crown stoppers, for example, from a lowerto a higher level, sequentially while maintaining the stoppers properly faced preparatory to their inspection upon a. preferably continuously moving part of the mechanism.

These and other objects-of my invention will be hereinafter referred to and the novel combinations :of means and elements'whereby said objects may be attained will be more particularly set forth in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawing which forms a part hereof and in whichlike reference characters designate like parts in the respective views, I have shown a preferred embodiment ofmy invention; but as I am aware of various changes and modifications which may be effected herein without departing from the spirit of my invention, .I desire to be limited only by'the scope of said claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a mechanism for elevating crown stoppers and permitting of the inspection of said stoppers.

Specification of Letters IPatent.

Application filed October 8, 1915. Serial 1T0. 54,885.

Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of said mechanism.

Fig.3 is an enlarged detail transverse section of the inspection table, the section being taken on line III-III of Fig. 1; and

- Fig. 4 is a similar section of the crown elevator, taken on line IVIV of Fig. 1.

The crown elevator preferably comprises two narrow and opposed belts 1 and 2 respectlvely arranged to pass around pulleys 3, 4e, 5 and 6, and pulleys 5, 6, 7 and 8, in a manner somewhat like that in which the cords or belts of a newspaper elevator are disposed.

When the opposed sides of the belts, which extend between the pulleys 5 and 6 are to carryup, or even down, such articles as crown stoppers, however, the newspaper conveyer'isnot well adapted to such purpose, owing to the tendency for such relatively small objects to'slip during transit and even in some cases to overlap each other with consequent possible mutilation of the decora-- tion or surface of the crown or like article when the opposed belt sections between ner. Upon inspecting Fig. 1 it will be observed that the opposed sections of the belts,

between which the stoppers are carried, have i been bowed'out by a plate 9, the thickness of which in Fig. 1, has been exaggerated, for clearness of illustration.

This plate or its equivalent maybe suitably supported by cross-bars 10 which extend between and tie together the side boards 11 between which the conveying sections of belts 1 and 2 ride.

The belt 1 is driven from the shaft 12 of pulley 3, as bymeans of a pulley 13 and belt :14, and while the frictional engagement between belts 1 and 2 will cause the former to drive thelatter, if desired, and in order to reduce the tension in the belts, belt 2 may be separatelydriven from-shaft 12 by pulleys ing to rotate the yoke counter-clockwise, as viewed in Fig 1, to place belt 1 under the desired tension.

Belt 2 is similarly tensioned by having its pulley 8 journaled in a pivoted yoke 21, controlled by a spring 22.

The belts 1 and 2 are preferably grooved so that a recess is provided therebetween in which the crowns 23 are received, as shown in Fig. 4; the sum of the depths of the opposed grooves (assuming, as is to be preferred, that both belts are grooved rather than to have a deeper groove in but one of them) being slightly less than the depth of the article to be carried in order to aid in preventing slippage of the latter.

A chute 23' delivers the crowns or like articles to the horizontal run of the belt 1 adjacent said chute, so that the stoppers enter the groove 24 in this belt in sequence and preferably with their corrugated edges up.

They then, of course, travel along with belt 1 until these edges are received into the groove 25 in belt 2, whereupon the crowns are clamped between the belts and travel upwardly past the bowed plate 9 which effectually prevents downward slippage of the stoppers, until they are carried around pulley 5 and delivered in order to the chute 26, down which they slide onto the sorting table belt 27.

This latter travels somewhat slower than the belts 1 and 2, and preferably at about 17 feet per minute to permit of proper inspection and sorting of the stoppers. The upper run of belt 27 rides in a groove in a support 28, one side of which is cut away, as at 29, to permit the inspectors to turn over the stoppers or sweep them off from the inspection belt onto the table 30 and vice versa, whenever desired.

Faulty stoppers or those having decorations not corresponding with the class being examined at any one time, which may inadvertently get in, are removed, and the inspected articles then pass on to the chute 31 down which they descend to a mechanism not shown, since it forms no part of the present invention.

The inspection belt may be driven, if desired, from the shaft 12 by means of a belt or-arope drive 32 and pulleys 33 and34; but in any case and no matter how said inspection belt is driven, it should move at a speed bearing a determined relation to that of the belts 1 and 2, to the end that the stoppers or like articles delivered to the inspection belt, shall not become congested.

In certain of the accompanying claims, I have used the term belt or belts and wherever so used it is to be understood that such term is, of course, to comprehend equivalent devices such as cords and the like. In the preferred construction, flat belts are used, the opposed article carrying portions or sections of which tend, by virtue of the tensile stress imposed thereon, to shape or straighten the contacting surfaces. thereof, out into a determined and substantially vertical plane; said portions, however, being deformed from end to end thereof from the shape that they thus tend to assume, by the bowed or equivalently shaped plate 9, to prevent downward slippage of the article being carried between said portions.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. In means for elevating stoppers and the like, the combination of two tensioned belts driven at substantially the same speed, said belts having upwardly traveling extended portions thereof opposed to receive therebetween the articles being conveyed, and immovably mounted means to bow said opposed extended portions of said belts continuously both in the same direction to prevent slippage of said articles during transit.

2. In means for elevatin stoppers and the like, the combination of two tensioned belts driven at substantially the same speed, said belts having upwardly traveling extended portions thereof opposed to receive therebetween the articles being conveyed, and an extended, curved plate to bow said opposed extended portions of said belts both in the same direction to prevent slippage of said articles during transit. I

3. In means for conveying stoppers and the like from one level to another, the combination of two tensioned belts driven at substantially the same speed, said belts having extended opposed and substantially vertical portions between which the articles to be carried are received, said portions each having a tendency to move into a determined and substantially vertical plane, and means to curvilinearly deform said portions from the shape that they tend to assume in said plane, from substantially end to end thereof and continuously in a determined direction, to prevent downward slippage of the articles being carried between said portions.

4. In means for conveying articles, the combination of two belts driven at substantially the same speed, said belts havin opposed portions between which the artic es to be carried are received, one at least of said portions being longitudinal] grooved for the reception of a part of eac article thereinto, means, located substantially wholly to one side of the path of articles being conveyed, to prevent slippage of said articles along said grooved belt, and means to drive said belts.

5. In means for conveying articles, the COIIlblIlfltlOIl of two belts driven at substantially the same speed, said belts havin opposed portions between which the artic es to be carried are received, one at least of said portions having therein a continuous groove extending longitudinally thereof, for the reception of parts of said articles thereinto,

means, located along but one side of the path of travel of said articles between the ends of said path, for pressing a wall of said groove firmly into engagement with articles being carried past said pressing means, and means for driving said belts.

6. In means for conveying articles, the combination of two belts driven at substantially the same speed, said belts having opposed portions between which the articles to be carried are received, one at least of said portions having therein a continuous groove extending longitudinally thereof, for the reception of parts of said articles thereinto, means, in sliding engagement with and acting upon at least one of said belts, to press a wall of said groove firmly into engagement with articles being carried past said pressing means, the latter being located along the line of travel of said articles but out of their path, and means for driving said belts.

7. In means for moving articles from one level to another, the combination of two tensioned belts having opposed article engaging portions to receive therebetween the articles to be conveyed, and means, having a, sliding engagement with and acting upon one of sad belts to thereby bow both belts laterally in the same direction to prevent slippage of said articles during their passage past said bowing means.

8 In means for conveying articles, the combination of two belts driven at substantially the same speed, said belts having opposed portions between which the articles to be carried are received, one at least of said portions having therein a continuous groove extending longitudinally thereof, for the re ception of parts of said articles thereinto, means, located along the path of travel of said articles between the ends of said path, for substantially continuously pressing awall of said groove firmly into engagement with articles being carried, and means for driving said belts.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES T; COWLEY. 

